Unemployed
Health insurance when unemployed
Who pays, what applies, what you need to do.
With unemployment benefit (Arbeitslosengeld) you stay in public health insurance and the employment agency pays the contributions. Without benefit you have to sort it out yourself. Here is what applies in each situation.
Author: Jan Ortgies · As of 11 November 2026 · If a switch comes about through our comparison, we receive a fee from the new insurer, not from you.
With unemployment benefit
With unemployment benefit you are insured
- Insured
- As long as you receive unemployment benefit you are compulsorily insured. The employment agency pays the contributions and your benefit is not reduced for it. You are insured from the first day for which you receive the benefit, so apply early.
- Choosing an insurer
- When your job ends, your previous membership ends and the twelve-month tie does not apply. You can choose a new insurer: apply for membership there and tell the agency no later than two weeks after your first day of unemployment benefit. Otherwise it registers you with your last insurer. If you were last privately insured, special rules apply, so ask the agency.
- Switching later
- While you receive benefit the normal rules apply: a twelve-month tie, switching to the end of the month after next. If the insurer raises the additional contribution, you can go before the twelve months are up. Tell the agency about the new insurer straight away.
- Is switching worth it?
- Under the law the agency bears the contribution including the additional contribution. So you only notice a cheaper insurer in your wallet in your next job. Benefits and service matter immediately.
- If you fall ill
- If you fall ill while receiving benefit, it continues for up to six weeks. After that your insurer pays sickness benefit at the level of your unemployment benefit. Report the sick note to the agency immediately and renew it without a gap. If you are already signed off sick when the job ends or a sanction period is running, the benefit is not continued. Your insurer then remains responsible for the time being.
Sanction period and severance
Sanction period, payment in lieu of holiday, severance
- Sanction period (Sperrzeit)
- During a sanction period (Sperrzeit) you are insured through the agency, at the earliest from the day you are unemployed and have registered. The condition is that you are in principle entitled to unemployment benefit and the sanction period is the only reason you receive no money. If your claim is also put on hold because of a severance payment, the cover does not apply during that time as the law is worded. With a termination agreement and severance, ask the agency and your insurer beforehand. There is no sickness benefit (Krankengeld) during the sanction period, but doctors, hospital and medication are covered.
- Payment in lieu of holiday
- If your benefit is put on hold because unused holiday is being paid out, the same applies as for a sanction period: you are insured from the start of that time.
- Severance payment
- If your benefit is put on hold (ruht) because of a severance payment, you are not insured through the agency during that time. For one month you still have a claim to benefits from your previous insurer. After that you need family insurance or pay yourself as a voluntary member. For family insurance, the severance payment counts as income. Careful with the contribution: while your benefit is on hold because of the severance, the insurer normally calculates as if your last salary continued. You then pay not the minimum but up to the maximum contribution, and you pay it alone, without an employer share. Have your insurer work out the amount before your last working day.
- Register anyway
- Register as unemployed immediately even if you expect a sanction period. Without registration there is no basis for the cover.
Without benefit
Unemployed without unemployment benefit
- Registering is not enough
- Registering as unemployed alone does not insure you. You are only insured through the agency if you receive the benefit or a sanction period (Sperrzeit) is running.
- The first month
- After your job ends you have a claim to benefits from your insurer for one more month at most, as long as you are not working. But this month is only free if you are insured again within it, for example through unemployment benefit, a new job or family insurance. If the gap lasts longer, voluntary membership runs retroactively from the day after your job ended, with contributions from that day.
- Family insurance
- You can be covered free of charge through your spouse or, depending on your age, your parents, if your total income is no more than €565 a month (2026). From 2028, covering a spouse will in many cases cost a surcharge.
- Otherwise voluntary membership
- If that does not apply, your insurance continues automatically as voluntary membership with your previous insurer. In 2026 the minimum contribution is around €270 a month for health and long-term care insurance together, or around €278 without children from age 23, calculated with the average additional contribution of 2.90%. Depending on the insurer it is slightly more or less.
- Answer the questionnaire
- The insurer will ask about your income. Reply even if you have none. Without proof it charges the maximum contribution.
- Short of money
- Apply to the job centre. If you only need support because of the insurance contribution, there is a subsidy towards it.
Basic income support
On basic income support (Grundsicherungsgeld, formerly Bürgergeld)
- Insured
- As a recipient who is able to work you are compulsorily insured and the job centre pays the contributions. You choose the insurer yourself and tell the job centre.
- Additional contribution
- For recipients the average additional contribution is used, not your insurer’s. So when choosing, benefits and service are what matter for you.
- No sickness benefit
- Basic income support alone gives you no entitlement to sickness benefit. The support continues when you are ill. If you also work in a job subject to insurance, sickness benefit can come from the job.
- Previously privately insured
- If you were last privately insured, you normally stay so. The job centre pays a subsidy towards the premium, limited to half the premium in the basic tariff.
- New right to choose
- If you move from unemployment benefit to basic income support, you can choose your insurer anew. You have two weeks to do so.
Other situations
Other life situations
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Am I insured while on unemployment benefit?
Am I insured during a sanction period?
How am I insured if I am registered as unemployed but receive no benefit?
Can I switch insurer while unemployed?
What happens if I fall ill while unemployed?
What does your help cost?
This page is general information based on our own research, without guarantee, and does not replace professional advice, nor information from your insurer, the employment agency or the job centre. Amounts are guide values for the year stated. Your individual case may differ.
Sources: § 5 SGB V · § 19 SGB V · § 175 SGB V · § 188 SGB V · § 240 SGB V · § 47b SGB V · § 146 SGB III · § 26 SGB II · Federal Employment Agency, leaflet 1 (German) · Federal Ministry of Health: contributions (German)
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for the comparison
You don't have to cancel your old health insurance yourself. Your new insurer handles the entire cancellation. You just briefly tell your employer which insurer you're switching to – the new insurer then sends them the membership certificate (Mitgliedsbescheinigung) electronically.
The entire switch happens online. No public office, no fax, no waiting room. Your membership application takes just a few minutes to submit online.
All statutory health insurers open nationwide are obliged to accept members – with no health check and no waiting period. Company health insurers (Betriebskrankenkassen) may be restricted to certain groups of people.